Glasshouse Journal

Q&A: G Binsky

At Glasshouse we love discovering new, independent brands breaking through in the creative industry and so when we stumbled across G Binsky on Instagram we were immediately captivated.

At a first glance, Brazilian born Gabriela’s work appears to be a selection of small, ceramic sculptures, their smooth waves and folds evoking imagery of water or the curves of the female body. Rather than just a trinket however, each piece is actually a beautifully crafted and wearable earring.

Having debuted her unique combination of ceramics and jewellery on Instagram in February last year, Gabriela has just launched her first official G Binsky web shop stocked full of her amazing creations. We got in touch with the her to find out more about the brand.

How did you first come up with the idea to combine the worlds of jewellery and ceramics?

I’m quite new to the Jewellery world and I simply started my brand from an immense desire to make something with own hands.

The brand first came to life in New York. At the time I was using different materials such as rope, copper, brass and iron, focusing on necklaces rather than earrings. After a while though, I felt a lack of lightness and I realised that what I was doing wasn’t enough. I really wanted to create the objects myself, to mould it by hand and to have infinite possibilities. Pottery has always been something that attracted me as I used to play with clay a lot as a child, and so when I moved to London I decided to take a ceramic course, with the idea of bringing the two worlds of ceramic and jewellery together already in mind.

What draws you to the neutral tones and simple shapes featured in your designs?

I love simplicity. I think that my designs have a minimalist touch, which is something I believe in; the more minimal something is, the more timeless it is. I like to think that my pieces could be used far into the future and also could have been used long ago. In terms of colour, at the moment I’m using a lot of neutral shades, but I will not necessarily be sticking to this palette. I’ll be looking into more colourful tones soon!

You’ve described your collection as ‘wearable objects with soul’. What does this mean to you?

My idea was never to just make a “product”. I would like to convey something more than that. Each object is handmade and moulded one by one, and I think that speaks for itself. No one is ever exactly the same as another. I think, in a way, that is what gives them ‘soul’.

Hand crafting each piece to order must take up a lot of time. Why is this important to you?

Nowadays everything is urgent, people are always in a hurry. Fast fashion is living proof of it. I am going in the opposite direction of this trend, I want to slow down.

The fact that ceramic work in itself is a combination of several processes means that it is not possible to make a piece in only a couple of days. I might not have a specific piece ready to be shipped, although I do sometimes have pre-made pieces depending on the demand. I think that in this speedy world we should learn to wait though, especially when talking about a handmade product. It gives a greater meaning to things.

Where do you source your inspiration?

I really like art and this ends up influencing me a lot. My mother is an artist and my father handmakes all kinds of objects and pieces. I grew up surrounded by this creative environment and it still inspires me today. But these first pieces have sprung from deep inside of me, it was almost intuitive.

I believe my inspiration started from something I was missing; the sound of the sea, the wind on a hot summer’s day, the smell of a forest, a dip into an icy sea. I’m calling my “collection” Little Feelings. We don’t always realise how special these small sensations are. I’m also very inspired by the female body. The curves, the lines and all the distinct beauty.

Is there a G Binsky woman that you have in mind when designing new pieces?

My pieces are made for all kinds of women, beauties and personalities. I believe my work ends up attracting people who appreciate art in different ways, like me. Women with sensibility.

Up until very recently, you have been operating on Instagram without an online website. How do you see the role of social media for up and coming designers?

In my opinion, Instagram is one of the best media platforms to expose this type of work, which is very visual. A lot of things happened to my brand through it; I received invitations for pop up stores, wholesale orders and customers searching and shopping through my feed. On top of that, Instagram has become a researching tool for people in the fashion, design and art worlds, generating a huge network of connections.